veg growing Newbies- Feb 2010! lets learn together!

pavlovs_dog

I live in hope Turbo

kissmyarts09

If anyone has access to a JTF cash and carry near them, they currently have lots of Mr Fothergill seeds on offer at 4 packets for just £1.00. These are usually very expensive seeds, the ones I chose were all priced on the back at between £1.50 - £2.75 a pack so a fantastic bargain at just 25p per pack!!
I bought Radishes, Dwarf Beans, Spinach, Rocket, Sweetcorn, Broccoli, Cabbage and Little Gem Lettuce.
Last year was my first year at veg growing and I bought all my seeds from a local discount store. Although they all came through fine, the crop was very poor to say the least - probably just me!! Fingers crossed these will do better for me than the the ones I grew last year. I'm hoping that a better seed will bring a better harvest.

enrich100

begley wrote: »

My tomatoes always seem to shrivel and drop off before they're ready to be harvested. I tried them in a hanging basket, and in pots last year, but no joy

I'll keep you all posted on my progress! All hints and tips gratefully received!

Sounds like blossom drop to me typically due to a lack of calcium

http://abouttomatoes.net/149/growing-tomatoes-how-to-avoid-common-problems/

As im too lazy/ too bad a typist to reinvent the wheel this link will tell you how to deal with it

LilacPixie

See I am at a disadvantage, no wilkos!! Still not made a finanl decision on what to plant. I really really need acess to our allotment to see. I want rubarb!! In a pot of course.

helenhelen

Im new to this too and want to plant some veggies with my sons, we dont have a conservatory/green house and only limited kitchen space - is it ok to plant outside now and what can we plant?

Small garden so will all be done in containers saw some large plastic containers today for £1 each so may invest in those sometime this week

lynzpower

Did quite well yesterday. I bought one of these http://www.wickes.co.uk/Soft-Bucket/invt/160179. Im going to do carrots in this. Tonight, Im going to put some of the compost in it, in the lean to. to see if it starts warmiong a bit under some £shop fleece.

FWIW I saw these for 2.99 in Home bargains too. Im going to get some from there as they had lots of nice colours ( red pink etc)

I also got one of the big polystyrene troughs from the fish resturaunt opposite. They do look a good size. I think Im going to do my beets in this.

Ive found an very old woolly blanket, im going to lay this in the lean to to try and get it a bit warmer in there.

lynzpower

helenhelen wrote: »

Im new to this too and want to plant some veggies with my sons, we dont have a conservatory/green house and only limited kitchen space - is it ok to plant outside now and what can we plant?

Small garden so will all be done in containers saw some large plastic containers today for £1 each so may invest in those sometime this week

Lots of things to start indoors now - chillis, peppers. Seed potatoes to be chitting to get ready for planting. Tghe potatoes I got from 99p stores ( Home guard and charlotte) were already part chitted so thats good. Home guards will be going in first as thier stalks (??) are longer

Ive started chilli and peppers and aubergine in my propogator. (less than 10er at B&Q)

RHYSDAD

http://www.vegetable-garden-guide.com/growing-carrots.html

This is a useful page for carrots in containers....

Optimisticpair

lynzpower wrote: »

We have no central heating so we cant really get stuff going yet.

But I want to have everything ready for when the weather picks up a bit!

Over on another thread a bright spark was using a heating pad under or around a bucket to start wine fermenting. Could that work for you if you were careful? Sitting a tray on top of a fridge /freezer is another possibility.

Optimisticpair

helenhelen wrote: »

- is it ok to plant outside now and what can we plant?

Small garden so will all be done in containers saw some large plastic containers today for £1 each so may invest in those sometime this week

Garlic is ok outside now. It needs a cold period.

I've started a small container of 1st early potatoes (Rocket) which I'm bringing back inside into a cold room overnight when there's going to be frost or snow. You can maybe get away with it if it's a warm sheltered spot and you cover them to protect against frost but there's a danger of losing them. I think delaying until the weather is better and getting a slightly later crop is better than losing them and having to start again.

My garden is still either rock solid with frost or the soil is sopping wet and cold.